Zero Interest
by Tziphora
Summary: Hope, dreams, ideals. All of these things that people held dear in their hearts she could never understand. Chained by their fears of uncertainty, they never realized the dreams they claimed to strive for, not knowing true freedom. But this man, who claimed he'd become the Pirate King, just how did his eyes stay clear? Can the wind truly become bound by friendship or remain lost?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own anything beyond my ocs.

 **Japanese VA** : Maaya Sakamoto – Rui Kagamiya (Fatal Frame 5)

 **English VA** : Michelle Ruff – Rukia Kuchiki

Chapter 1: The Empty Smile. A Mystery Woman Appears.

The wind was cool today. The billowing sails taunt, not a wrinkle seen, all thanks to the unseen wind pushing against the white cloth. This allowed the snake entwined skull mark to display itself proudly, stating to all who witness the vessel it adorned that this was a pirate vessel.

Yet no matter how hard one looked, they would never see the lone man struggling to stand on his feet, surrounded by the undamaged bodies of his crew. The captain of the Basilisk had never dared to assume that such a person was capable of the atrocity he witnessed today.

Despite the many men he possessed, they hadn't stood a chance against a single foe. They had only entered the Grand Line a month ago, yet to think that there were people like this sailing these waters. Even now, he was only alive because that monster had been distracted by a rainstorm that vanished as quickly as it had appeared.

Even now, there was little doubt that the reprieve was but a short one. Sure enough, the sound of heeled boots echoed off the deck, slowly advancing on the man. But damn it all, he refused to die without landing a single strike upon that monster's flesh! He may die, but that thing would acknowledge the Gorgon Pirates!

Slowly, his body still trying to remember that it can breathe again, Debilitas drew his cutlass. Once the footsteps were right next to him, the pirate pushed himself to his knees and swiped the blade across, aiming for the vulnerable legs.

Yet despite having the supposed element of surprise, the figure he had attacked vanished, the footsteps resuming further ahead, completely ignoring the shocked male.

"Zero interest." The voice was empty for someone who'd effortlessly killed all his men. And what the hell was with the zero? When the Basilisk had first been boarded, those light blue-green eyes had calmly scanned over all the shocked men, before calmly stating the exact same thing.

A flash of black was all Debilitas could make out before a sharp pain made itself known on his right shoulder. Looking towards the source of the pain, a small throwing knife sticking out of his skin.

Even though he would never know it, but even as he felt his lungs struggle for the air that was miraculously being denied despite the only wound being the knife to the shoulder, Debilitas' last thoughts were the same of his men.

' _I don't want to die.'_

And as darkness overcame all, the last thing those emptying eyes glimpsed was the very flag they'd sailed under blowing away in the wind.

-ZI-

Chopper was finally satisfied with the placement of his bottled medicine and equipment. Standing proud, the newest member of the Straw Hat Crew stared at his 'office'. It may not have been the biggest or fanciest, but it was his. Here, he would be capable of patching up his friends…

…The little pirate couldn't contain the giggle of excitement at that word.

Friends.

He now had friends. People who accepted him as he is. A place where no one is normal. A money obsessed navigator, a love-sick cook, a directionally challenged, chronic sleeping and drinking swordsman, an inventing sharpshooter/adventurer of the seas, a princess and her duck, and the craziest one of them all.

The trouble (read: adventure) seeking captain of them all.

Monkey D. Luffy.

Among this crew, the odder you are, the more you fit in apparently.

Though Chopper was starting to understand the true pecking order of things here. When Doctor Hiluluk had described pirates over dinner once, he had said that the captain was the highest authority on the crew.

But while Chopper would always acknowledge the great man as the best doctor he'd known, his surrogate father had never met Nami. She was the real head of this crew. The woman somehow was capable of damaging a man made of rubber with her fist alone.

A shiver ran through the doctor's fur.

"Scary." Tears filled his eyes at the mere memory of the woman's wrath.

Still, no matter how scared he was, his friends would need him at his best one day and they would get it. Despite his fear!

*BANG!*

"CHOPPER!"

"GAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

Scared out of his mind, Chopper, dropped the medical texts he'd pulled out to refresh his memory on the medical properties of plants natural to tropical dessert settings.

Turning sharply to the door, the doctor saw Usopp panting heavily at the door, face wet with…tears? No, it was sweat from fear judging by the unhealthy white sheen of the male's face.

"A-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a gh-g-g-g-ghost ship."

If it wasn't for his fur, Chopper would have been just as pale.

"A ghost ship!"

"Those monsters want to explore it! You've got to help me! We need another vote for ignoring the creepy ship and moving on!"

Without waiting for a reply from the shell-shocked reindeer, the chronic liar grabbed an arm and hauled the now terrified doc out to the deck of the Merry, where the rest of the crew was currently. Luffy was bouncing in excitement, eyes pretty much glowing stars from anticipation.

Earlier, Usopp had seen the ship floating aimlessly a while ago. Despite the ship's pristine condition, there was not a single sign of movement on board. All it had taken was a passing comment from Zoro about feeling something wrong coming from that ship, to have Luffy snickering about it being a mystery ship.

At that remark, Usopp made a big deal about having 'Must-stay-away-from-strange-ship-disease'. Even Nami had started to made reasons why they had to keep going once she heard Zoro's cryptic comment, the evil looking grin convincing her more than anything that they needed to stay away from the aimlessly wandering ship. Though if she was going to be made to approach it, than there had better some damn treasure on board. Money was always worth the terror. The Monster Trio could handle the scary stuff if it came to that.

Before Chopper's forced appearance, the vote had been a tie, Nami, Usopp, and Carue voting to avoid the ship with Zoro, Luffy, and Vivi voting to board it. Sanji was not among the counted as he kept bouncing between supporting Nami and Vivi. Of those among the boarding party though, only Vivi desired to go out of concern for anyone possibly injured on the ship.

"Alright, Chopper, it's all up to you. You need to only make the correct choice. We are counting on you, Little Buddy." Usopp whispered, Nami nodding frantically.

"Nah, we all know Chopper wants to go aboard too. After all, it's a mystery ship!" Luffy shoved Usopp away from the reindeer and shoved his face in front of Chopper, a shit-eating grin on his face.

"All pirates love adventures and everyone knows you can find adventures in mystery places."

Chopper started sweating from nerves, his gaze filled with sparkling eyes, just able to make out the forms of Nami, Usopp, and Carue shaking their heads rapidly from the corner of his eye.

Vivi nervously watched as the Merry slowly gained on the ship, before kneeling next to the conflicted doctor.

"Chopper, there may still be survivors on the ship."

In an instant, Chopper's gaze cleared, while the poor cowardly trio huddled in a corner, bemoaning their misfortune.

So it was with a heavy heart that Nami guided the ship alongside the vessel. That heavy feeling only intensified when her gaze locked on the pirate symbol decorating the sail, her vision actively searching for a flag yet the small cloth seemed to remain elusive to her efforts.

"That's strange." Her whisper was lost to the wind and Luffy's call for adventure…but mostly Luffy's voice.

Now that they were keeping up with the ship, it was easy to see the deck. Which provided absolutely no answers and only a creepy feeling. There were bodies littering the deck. They were all huddled close together, yet there was no sign of injury. Chopper didn't even wait for one of the deemed 'monsters' to assist him in crossing ships, switching to his beast form to jump over.

Switching back to his Man/Beast form, Chopper started investigating what was immediately classified as the deceased. No burning of the mouth, vomiting, no almond smell of the exuding from the mouth, or puncture marks. Actually, the only injury was one male with a small stab wound in his right deltoid muscle.

The only thing all these people…deceased…had in common, was bloodshot eyes. If one stood back and looked at everything in whole, it was as if all the pirates had just collapsed and stopped breathing.

"Wow, they were pretty stupid to stop breathing."

Chopper jumped at the sound of Luffy's voice, having been unaware that he was speaking his thoughts aloud.

"That's proof enough! This ship is cursed! We need to get out of here before the spirit possesses us and kills us all!" Usopp screamed, which went ignored by all except Carue, who was crying alongside him. Both scaredy-ducks had remained on the ship.

Nami was more concerned with picking the pockets of the pirates scattered around then any ghost, now that no one was going to attack her. Stupid Zoro and his creepy warnings. She should consider raising his interest rate just for scaring her.

"Hm? What's this?" What she had originally taken for a stray Beri, was actually a strange paper with a strange imagery writing in a circle, surrounding a symbol written in what looked like…blood.

Zoro wandered around the deck, one hand remaining on Yubashiri, as his gaze looked over all possible ambush points. Something was wrong on this ship. Not to mention the pirates here were strange enough to randomly place white strips of paper on surfaces like the railing, walls, and even the floorboards.

Vivi struggled to understand how someone could do such a thing. And this was only a taste of what would await her people if she failed to stop Crocodile. Even with the lack of blood, the loss of life was always tragic.

Luffy was simply bored. There wasn't anything on this ship. The only fun thing was that strange piece of island with a large chest resting on it chained to the ship that he was now staring at. While this may not be a mystery ship, it had a mystery rock, since it wasn't visible when they were approaching the ship earlier. Maybe if he stared long enough, it would disappear again, proving him right.

No one else noticed Luffy's new focus, Sanji more occupied with keeping an eye on his lovely ladies, Zoro stuck on the other end of the ship as he kept getting turned around from the inner parts of the ship and the back deck.

"Hey, Vivi, have you ever seen this type of script before?" Nami handed the strange paper to the Princess of Alabasta, who frowned at the strange writing, or what she assumed was writing.

"No, I'm sorry. I've never seen anything like this before."

But as Vivi started to hand the paper back, the blood red symbol in the middle suddenly started glowing, blinding the two girls. It was their screams of shock that alerted the rest of the crew to what had just happened.

"Nami! Vivi!" Sanji was the second to arrive on the scene, Luffy having been the first and Zoro the last, Usopp and Carue watching in terror from the Going Merry.

On the front deck, among the bodies, were Chopper, Vivi, and Nami surrounded by what appeared to be a strange force of wind.

"Hold on, my dearies! Your prince will save you!" Sanji ran up towards the strange dome and kicked at it, only to be shot away to crash into the railing, cracking the wood.

"Sanji!" Vivi called out in worry. What had just happened? Was the force of this wind so strong that it was able to push away someone as strong as Sanji? Chopper was currently clamped to Nami's leg in terror at the strange wind dome.

Nose twitching, Chopper curiously looked around. Strange, was it just him or was the oxygen in here…

…oh no!

"Vivi! Nami! You have to calm down and take slow, shallow breathes! The oxygen isn't flowing properly in here!"

Everyone paused and looked at the doctor.

"I don't know how, but this dome is keeping in the limited oxygen. The more oxygen we breathe, the more carbon dioxide is released and trapped in the dome with us. If we can't break this dome…"

Chopper swallowed, having now realized just how the pirates here died.

"…we'll die of Hypercapnia, extreme elevated levels of carbon dioxide in the body due to lack of oxygen. The same as everyone else on this vessel."

"Some stupid wind isn't going to stop me!" Luffy grinned, despite the danger his crew was in. "Gum-Gum-Pistol!"

Luffy's fist shot towards the dome, only to be repelled again, the sheer force of the wind resulting in his own attack nailing him in the face. "GAH!"

"You idiot. If the shitty-cook couldn't even land a measly kick, why do you think a punch would have any effect?" Zoro questioned the downed captain.

Clapping echoed all around the crew, causing everyone to look search for the source which seemed to come from all around them. It was Usopp who noticed the figure first, knees quaking in terror.

"Uuuuuup there!"

Usopp pointed towards the top of the foremast, where a figure was currently sitting with legs crossed, hands clapping in a slow, mocking motion.

"Wanu ehdanacd. Oui cruimt ymm zicd tea ymuhkceta ouin lusnytac." The figure's voice said without shouting, though the wind seemed to carry the voice down to the Straw Hat Pirates. It was hard to tell gender, though the language was one none could understand.

Without warning, the paper all around the deck glowed, more domes surrounding all the crew on the deck, the only ones free being Usopp and Carue.

"What the hell is this?!" Zoro growled out, striking out at the dome from the inside, yet leaving no mark. Luffy used a Gum-Gum-Gatling only to have them strike him instead yet again.

Having secured the crew, the figure pushed off the wood pole holding up the upper part of the front sail. "GAH! Here he comes!" Just how was he supposed to handle dealing with someone who so easily captured all of his friends?!

What if this guy was part of Barogue Works!? Someone save him!

When the figure was feet from the deck, a small, localized circle of wind appeared, catching the jumper, slowing their decent enough to softly land on their feet, head bowed slightly, hiding the facial features. Slowly, the figure, revealed to be a small chested female of around 168cm. Silver hair pulled into a side ponytail that had six stones dangling from the tie, wild bangs framing light green-blue eyes. Black thigh shorts were almost hidden by a large belt hanging sideways off her hip, large pouches clipped all over it. Black buckled high heeled boots rose to her upper thighs, leaving only inches of skin seen between them and the shorts. The top was simply four pieces of black cloth with cyan designs decorating it, tied together at the shoulders, the chest, back, and sides, the ends hanging loosely around her hips, swaying with the wind. Her body's pale skin seemed sickly against the black cloth. Within one hand was a worn leather book, closed to all other purview. A large buckled choker hung around her neck, a key and white stone hanging off the front. Two knives were sheathed along her forearms.

"Oui lyh ymm du zicd gehtmo tea huf."

"Stop speaking gibberish already and let me out of this thing!" Luffy demanded, releasing yet another punch only to be thrown backwards into the other part of his dome trap, now bouncing all around, and the wind tossing his rubber body like a toy ball in a wind tunnel.

Everyone just ignored their captain's antics. He was rubber. So he could handle that little tumble. Chopper was more worried about how much oxygen Luffy was expending with his shouts.

The smiling female paused, blinking before widening her smile again, eyes closed.

"Ah, I apologize. Whenever I read my notes, I seem to have the habit of speaking my native language. I was simply requesting you all to die. No worries. Now if you'll all excuse me."

With a slight bow of her head, the girl turned around and started walking towards the cabin of the ship completely ignoring the Straw Hat Pirates.

"Hey, you get your ass back here! Don't you ignore me!" Luffy managed to shout despite the wind still tossing him around.

"Bye Bye."

The female was about to open the door when she suddenly vanished, a faint white and black afterimage all that was left to be hit by Usopp's exploding star.

"Where'd she go?" Nami turned all around, everyone trying to find the girl, only for Sanji to look frantic.

"Usopp, behind you!"

The long nosed male shakily turned, only to have something slam into his gut, tossing the poor teenager off the Going Merry and into Luffy's wind prison, causing the two to become entangled.

"Now, can't we all just get along? You all get to die together because of my generosity. When the ship sinks, you can rest assured that your lifeless remains will decompose alongside your allies."

"What the hell are you talking about!?" Nami cried out.

Zoro though was looking more closely at the wind surrounding him. None of his attacks even caused a break in the wind pressure, same with the love-sick cook's kicks and Luffy's punches. If he actually looked carefully at the floorboards, the wind was actually beneath his feet as well, but subtle enough to remain unnoticed and not hinder their ability to stand. Which meant they couldn't just destroy the deck and drop below to get free.

Yet somehow, that girl had been able to throw Usopp into Luffy's prison without any resistance and without any opening in the wind appearing. The liar had merely passed right through. Was this a Devil Fruit ability? But the woman hadn't even made a motion to attack. It had been only for a maybe half a second, but he'd seen her land feet first on the Merry's mast before vanishing and appearing behind Usopp, smile still in place.

Could it have simply been the wind pressure from her speed that hit Usopp?

Just what was this woman? Though currently, his situation wasn't any better. His body was already starting to feel heavy, each breath getting harder to grasp. And he wasn't sharing, unlike Vivi, the witch, and Chopper. While their dome may be larger, the air was going thrice as fast.

However, what really made this girl dangerous, was she was giving off no blood lust. No desire to harm. She felt nothing in the wake of their possible (cause in no way was he going to die here) demise. There was no feeling behind this attack. Anger, madness, grief, hesitation, or even elation. Usually, when someone takes another's life, they will feel a glimmer of something. Even just an uncaring acknowledgement or dismissal of their passing.

But she didn't even have that aura about her. None of them even registered her attention. She wasn't even dismissing them. They never even gained her notice to begin with.

And the fact that the shitty-cook was ignoring everything and now gushing over the scantily clad girl wasn't helping matters. All it would take is one wrong gust of wind, which seemed to be this woman's specialty, and her whole upper body would be revealed.

So he could already count that idiot out of the battle.

"You came here to support your allies, so it is only right that you follow them in death. Or are you pirates truly so black hearted that you will allow your comrades to descend to the afterlife alone?"

"We've never seen these people before! We only came over so we could steal the treasure on this ship!" The orangette actually managed to sound proud when she said that. No one would claim she was lying either. That really would be the only reason the tangerine loving woman would dare approach a possibly haunted ship would be money.

Vivi and Chopper didn't like the thought of being placed in the same mindset as Nami when it came to priorities and made to quickly disclaim such a notion.

"Vivi, Chopper, quiet!" Zoro immediately cut them off. The strange woman had actually paused. While her smile had never changed, they had managed to enter her notice. Now they just had to hope the money-grubbing witch didn't screw this up.

"You are not comrades with the dead here?"

"Puh-lease. We don't even know who these guys are. But as a woman who loves money, I can never turn away an opportunity to steal it, no matter how immoral it is!"

Though she didn't have make it sound like they were all like her. May that woman burn in hell poor as a homeless man. If there was any justice in this world, she would not die rich.

Though for all her sudden bravery, the cat thief couldn't contain her scream of shock when the girl suddenly appeared inches from her…

…inside the prison.

"What kind of idiot enters their own trap?!" Zoro couldn't contain his cry of annoyance. Even if she was capable of dispersing it, she was now vulnerable to attack!

But now that he looked carefully, it appeared as if a weight had lifted off of the trio's shoulders. Could she possibly control whether air flows in or not without having to alter the currents? Damn it all though, no matter many times he ran it possibilities through his head, it was meaningless if he was still trapped. His lungs were starting to make their demands for fresh air known to him.

"Uha banlahd. So you are merely opportunists?"

"Of course!" Nami agreed, having regathered her bearings. Despite this woman's strange language, at least she had her attention. Not to mention she could suddenly breathe again.

Another closed eye smile was given before-

"Ah, I apologize for almost suffocating you with oxygen deprivation."

Without any warning, the wind holding the Straw Hats prisoner dispersed, permitting struggling lungs to suddenly fill with fresh air, easing the slowly building weight on their chest. The silverette made no movement, merely watching them with that unchanging grin.

"Hahaha. You really are an honest woman. You truly wished to simply grave rob those who have merely died in hopeless terror less than an hour ago."

As if they were the best of friends, the unknown woman clapped Nami on the back, only to be shoved back. But nothing seemed to ruffle the wind woman. She simply turned and made to sit on the railing, her back to the Going Merry, watching the pirates before her with that infuriating smile.

"Of course, if there had been even a glimmer of hesitation in your eyes, you would have died. Though everyone makes mistakes, so I'm sure you can forgive me. I have read that it is better to ask for forgiveness than permission." As if anyone would willing ask to be killed!

Without any fear, as the Straw Hats regained their bearings, the woman merely watched them. Though she did let out a 'haha' at Usopp's reactions to finally being free from Luffy's limbs now that the wind was no longer there to keep entangling them. But even that laugh rang hollow.

Since, in that entire event, her gaze had remained hollow of all feeling.

TBC…

Well, this is a test chapter in a sense. Please let me know if you wish for me to continue working on this. Depending on how it's received, I'll continue. And if you wish to know what is being said, look up Al Bhed. That is the alternate language and visible script that this mystery girl will be using.

If this isn't well received, well, I'll be depressed for a bit but will work longer on it before trying again, so please be honest. Critique for improving is appreciated but please no flames or comments just for the sake of causing emotional harm. Thank you all very much and I hope to continue writing this story soon. If it does, it will be a mix between Manga and Anime. Have a good weekend!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Last I checked, I'm not famous so I obviously don't own One Piece and will never claim to.

Chapter 2: The Doctor Makes His Stand.

The silver haired female kept on grinning, despite the sword currently pointed at her by the green haired swordsman. After all, by the looks of smoke breathe over there, that beautiful blade would not be stained with her blood today.

The fruit smelling girl and blunette were tense, ready for anything to happen…or run away like the shaking long-nosed wimp was. The talking cuddle toy had changed forms, meaning a Zoan devil fruit.

Still, the dull witted straw hat boy was the strangest of the bunch. Despite the fact that she had been about to kill him and his associates, he didn't seem to hold any anger towards her. Strange.

"Vuin banlahd."

Still, she no longer had any time to waste on these pirates.

Judging by the stabbing pains pulsating through her gut, she had only a little strength left before she passed out from either pain or aether depletion, which could also result in death. Should be interesting either way.

At the thought of her possible death, the female's grin widened, which cause the hand holding the blade to tighten its grip.

Truly, it was interesting to witness the effects of how people reacted when one forced their facial muscles to form an expression stated to express joy, excitement, contentment, and other similar drivel. Yet here she was, one who could care less about such things, only adopting such behavior cause she was told smiling made her less creepy when observing (read staring) as opposed to blankly staring at people with no expression at all.

"Well, as much as I enjoyed witnessing the results of my experiments, I do need to get going. The next piece of land I encounter isn't going to come to me on its own."

Completely ignoring the blade, which left a thin slice on the side of her neck as a result of suddenly walking into the side, the silverette un-phased by the injury. Before anyone could properly react though, she had already vanished, to appear behind Luffy, standing on the now ghost ship's railing, where the small piece of land resided.

She had just walked right off the ledge when something wrapped around her torso and pulled her right back on deck, similar to how a fisherman yanks a fish out of water.

Huh. So that is what her dinner felt like.

That was the last thought the female had before her head collided with the main mast, followed by darkness.

-OP-

"GAH! Luffy! What are you doing?! She was about to leave! As in no longer be our problem!" Usopp exclaimed, terrified beyond reason as he watched his captain's arm finish retracting.

"But she was going to take the mystery rock." Luffy was about to continue when his head collided with the mast face first, his body following the stretched neck to crumple next to the knocked out female. Usopp and Chopper stared at the face imprint left in the wood, amazed by the detail.

(Though Usopp was more overjoyed that the Going Merry wasn't the ship suffering from these monsters and their arguments for once.)

"How dare you injure a woman before my eyes!"

Before the blonde cook could get fully worked up and start a long annoying rant, Nami simply knocked the guy to the floorboards with a punch, a trail of smoke rising from the contact point of the man's head. Ignoring his twitching form, the navigator walked over to where the strange girl had been about to jump to, where Luffy said a mystery rock resided.

There hadn't been anything over there when they approached the ship so why did both appear to believe there was something there. Luffy she could safely ignore as the 'mystery rock' being one of the rubber man's bizarre ramblings, but a girl who had consumed a Devil Fruit wouldn't be so stupid as to just walk right into the ocean.

Of course, all other thoughts left the money obsessed woman as her eyes suddenly became Beri signs.

A chest. A chest unguarded on a floating rock. Chests contained valuables, valuables entailed money, money meant Nami had to have it.

Simple logic.

"Hey, you idiots get over here and grab me that treasure chest!" Nami ordered, eyes glittering gold at the thought of money. The woman owed Nami compensation for the traumatic experience anyway so it was all fair.

"Yes, right away dear Nami!" Sanji sprung back to his feet, his own visible eye a large heart as he immediately jumped off the ship without thinking, causing the swordsman to scoff at the idiot-cook's idiocy. Luffy shouted how that was his mystery rock while Usopp stared in bafflement at the appearance of a strange piece of land floating in the ocean, suddenly claiming to be afflicted with 'must-avoid-strange-appearing-land-disease'.

Chopper and Vivi ignored the issuing chaos that was the Straw Hat Crew and instead observed the female, who hadn't even twitched to awareness despite the noise. Chopper felt the girl's head, feeling the bump she had received from Luffy pulling her back to the deck. But that wasn't what truly gave him worry.

Now that he could look more closely, the small doctor noticed the small signs that had registered in his mind but went ignored when they had been faced with the possibility of their demise. But now, she wasn't their enemy. She'd apologized and had been about to leave.

As a doctor though, he couldn't consciously allow her to leave now. He couldn't just ignore what was right in front of him. But how could he convince the others? He was still new so would his word hold any weight in decision makings?

As Chopper became despressed over the task before him, Vivi was looking for something else. What she had thought were designs on her clothing were actually similar script as what had decorated the strange paper they'd found. And this book…

Vivi opened the book the female had dropped after passing out, strange writing decorating the pages, as well as drawings. Some matching the papers as well. As if this was some type of research journal, though the writing was different from the script on the paper and her clothing. She had never seen anything like this before.

But the Grand Line was a vast place so that wasn't saying much.

"GAHHHHHHHHH! Why won't this damn thing open! Zoro, open this thing already!"

Nami's shouts jolted both princess and doctor back to reality, turning to see what had upset the orangette.

"And just what do you expect me to do." The green haired swordsman raised a frowning eyebrow with a look only Zoro could pull off.

"Cut it open of course." And of course, Nami simply shook her head in pity as if what she expected of the taller man to be obvious. Which of course only set off Zoro's temper.

"Screw you! Even if I wanted to help you, which I don't, it wouldn't do you any good."

This got the swordsman looks.

"Haven't you noticed? That girl's wind is surrounding that chest. My attack would simply rebound."

Multiple eyes turned to the chest, focusing on it. After a moment, what Zoro saw became obvious…to those with working brains. Just as a slight wind had covered the floorboards back when they were trapped, so too did the chest have a wind barrier covering it like a second cover. It was subtle to the point that one remained unaware of its existence unless you were looking for it.

To Nami though, this meant she would have to force the girl to open that thing….

…..she'll try again with the lock later. The wind barriers had dissipated, so maybe this one would too after the girl was unconscious for long enough. Though could a Devil Fruit user's ability still work when they were unconscious? The girl's Devil Fruit could only be a Logia or a Paramecia, but Nami didn't know enough about them to be a hundred percent sure.

And it wasn't like Luffy was any help with those types of questions. She probably knew more about the cursed fruits than he did.

Damn straw hat wearing boys and their lack of desire to actually know about what it was that changed their bodies. Nami would bet Zoro's swords that Luffy simply had one panicked episode then thought his ability was cool. She'd also bet Usopp's goggles that the idiot hadn't even realized he'd eaten a Devil Fruit till after he'd swallowed, considering how he just shoved food down his throat more often then he chewed it.

Sneaking a glance at the rubber man who had pulled up the piece of land from the water only to now watch it with sparkling eyes as it proceeded to hover in the air above them with that same infernal wind holding it up.

Yep. Her captain was dumb enough for her to have won both bets.

"Um…I have something I need to request." Choppers small voice grabbed everyone's attention, causing the young doctor to jump at the suddenness of the attention.

"I know I've only been with you all for a short while, but I would like to ask permission for me to take her with us." A small hoof pointed at the downed female beside him.

"She appears to be suffering from starvation, sleep deprivation, and displays signs of long term malnourishment. If left on her own for much longer, she'll die. I know she attacked us, but she already apologized so please-"

"Sure, she can come." Luffy grinned down at his newest crew member, perched on the floating mystery rock. He wanted to see more of that mystery wind. It must be cool since it was holding the mystery rock in the air.

Shishishi, he was King of the Rock...wonder what else he could do with the mystery rock.

Shaking their head at their captain, the cowardly duo didn't even waste their energy protesting. Nami more cause she wanted into the treasure chest and Usopp was more bemoaning his fate in his head. Luffy was going to get them killed with his love of adventure and the unknown.

They've long accepted this fate.

-OP-

 _Four small figures sat together in a dark lit chamber, old script of their people decorating the walls with the history of the land and the four's predecessors. Despite the lack of light, none of the children showed any signs of unease. The shirtless, flame red hair boy grinned at the others as he started the next topic._

" _So, What do you all want to do in the Outer Lands? I'm going to find people who I can fight constantly to get stronger!" He shouted, pumping a fist in the air._

" _I would prefer to observe the different cultures and record their history. Preferably the unbiased history of course." A calm blue haired child serenely smiled._

" _We have no need of simple things. We are capable of creating what We need as We are beloved by the Earth. Though We will admit to being curious of the stones existing beyond Our home." The two-toned green haired girl stated, clutching the gothic dressed doll to her chest._

"…" _The silver haired female remained silent, face empty as she stared blankly at the walls. It was when the silence continued that she glanced at her fellow children._

" _I care little for what lies beyond this land or within it. In the end, our fate is the same either way. I will continue to be me. Simple as that. The wind will take me where it wants."_

" _NO NO NO! You have to want something! That's the point of sharing this! You can't cop out with that boring answer, Zero!" The wild boy exclaimed, jolting to his feet to point a shaking finger at the silver haired child, who simply turned her unfocused gaze back to the walls._

 _It was when fingers were shoved into her mouth to hook on her cheeks and pull them up that she refocused on the fire boy._

" _And that stupid expression is getting annoying! Smile! Smile dammit! It's just creepy when you stare blankly at nothing!"_

" _Now, now, Axel. You can't expect everyone to be so passionate about everything like you." The blue haired child calmly said, attempting to placate the boy._

" _And you!" Axel pointed a saliva covered finger at the closed eye smiling child. "You need to stop smiling at everything like that. You can't be happy all the time! That's just as freaky never smiling." The scene was awkward for Zero who now had a crooked forced smile as a finger was still shoving her cheek up._

" _We are amused by your hypocrisy, firefly. You hate Zero for never feeling anything, though We understand as nothing here is worth noting but Us, and you despise Yu for always smiling despite Yu's nature being that of a calm water garden, moving yet peaceful."_

" _Will you talk properly already, Ada! That's driving me nuts!" Axel exclaimed, finally removing his hand from Zero's mouth, who simply stared at the bickering duo (more like Axel was bickering as Ada was more smugly messing with the boy)._

" _Ten percent."_

 _The silence returned as three pairs of eyes turned to the silverette…who was now sporting an empty smile._

" _GAH! Stop that! That's scary!" Axel screamed, hiding behind Yu in terror at the expression, despite being the one to say Zero had to smile._

" _Haha, it's nice to know we're such good friends. Right, Ada." Yu chuckled._

" _Hmph, We acknowledge that Our life will not be boring with you all."_

 _-_ OP-

"-old she is. The malnutrition, if it occurred when she was a child would stunt her growth but if she was treated soon enough, then some of the damage may have been reversed. If her people are tall, than she may be fully grown with stunted height or she may be naturally short. She most likely hasn't eaten anything for days though, with the way her stomach keeps acting up. She'll have to be kept on liquids for a while until I can safely guarantee she can keep that down."

Huh, someone was talking. Sounded like the stuffed animal. Three presences in the room though. The talking doll next to her, a tall individual next to him, and another tall figure next to what must be a door with the airflow alternating mostly from that space. Based on those figures, she may be in a room with the doll, Blondie, and sword guy. She could literally feel that razor gaze of his again.

Though whether he actually knew she was awake and pretending to still be unconscious or just hated her presence, who knew or cared.

Having no interest playing possum, too much effort, the silverette sat up, ignoring the pains in her stomach. This caused the small animal to scream in shock and fear at the sudden unexpected movement. Which in turn startled the Blondie who immediately started gushing about how he was thankful to the heavens or something that she was alright. The sword guy though, had taken to resting a hand on the hilt of the white sheathed blade.

Message clear. He was ready should she reveal herself to be a threat…again.

Pointless. She had little interest in these people after all.

Mind clear on what she wanted to accomplish, the female made to get out of the cot she had been asleep in which prompted Chopper to act.

"No! You can't get up yet. Your body is still recovering from hunger and exhaustion! In your condition, you won't last much longer."

The suddenness of the small animal now taller then her started the female into compliance, before she resumed attempting to depart.

"I have no need for medical attention," now that she could safely assume the now large being to be a medical professional of sorts. "I have a greater priority to get to a port island and laying here won't get me any closer to one, so I am afraid you will simply have to accept my refusal for treatment."

"Don't waste your time. Chopper won't let you leave, and Luffy already destroyed your little floating rock." Zoro tossed out, sitting down cross-legged now that he knew the brat wasn't going to attack. Unlike before, where they had not even been worth dismissing from notice, she now studied them. While he couldn't rely on him sensing her intent to attack, considering she didn't seem to give off such even when attacking, Zoro did rely on his past encounter with the female. Now that she was told her apparent means of transport was destroyed and she should be capable of feeling the movement of their ship, fighting was pointless. She wouldn't waste her time killing people who seemed to exhibit no behavior of attacking her.

And sure enough, the female didn't even ask for proof, she simply permitted Chopper to properly position her on the bed again.

Though he wasn't sure himself how to explain that Luffy tried to act like a spinning top on the rock and smashed it into the ghost ship, effectively sinking it as the wind seemed to violently disperse without the object it was previously supporting.

On the bright side, witnessing the effect of what happens when destroying the object that creepy wind of effecting seemed to remove all thoughts of destroying the chest to get the treasure from that damn witch's mind.

"How bothersome. It took several attempts before I found a solution to my rock. Now I'll have to carve out another. Well, I can safely assume that my luggage was safely brought on board. With the way your citrus scented associate raided those bodies, I doubt she let your cursed friend play with it. So if it isn't too much trouble, I'd like it and my book, if it wasn't left behind, returned at the moment. I would like to change clothes at the very least."

"I'll fetch it, my Lady! Your knight shall return with it and a feast worthy to be consumed by a budding flower such as yourself." Sanji exclaimed, dashing out on whirlwind legs.

"Only liquids! She can't handle solids!" Chopper called out, praying that the girl crazy cook remembered his words. Sighing, the human-reindeer turned back towards his patient.

"Thank you for understanding. I know this isn't what you expected, but as a doctor, I can't just ignore your health. And it was our captain's fault you were knocked out to begin with."

That empty smile returned. "It is no worry. I will go where the wind takes me. I have no great need to be somewhere apart from whatever port town I happen across. Though I would like to know where your ship is heading at the moment."

Chopper hesitated. While they didn't have to worry about this woman trying to kill them, he still didn't know just how much he was allowed to share with a stranger. It was Vivi herself that saved the poor doctor from his internal struggle as she entered.

"We're currently headed towards Alabasta, which does have a port city."

In her hands was the very book the female had possessed. Once Sanji had stated that Chopper's patient was awake and desiring her belongings, Vivi had decided to return the book she had been studying, hoping to find something to hint at where this girl was from.

Once the book was in the silverette's possession, Vivi occupied the chair Sanji had previously been occupying, observing the female. She was smaller than they had though, her shoes adding the height, making her 165cm instead of the 168 they had thought. But the way she held herself, you couldn't really think of this female as a child.

"I thank you for returning my book, though I wonder how you fared in your vain attempt to understand my language."

The girl wasn't even trying to be mean. She really was just that blunt.

"I am Vivi. This is Chopper and Zoro," Vivi gestured towards the figures matching the names. "May I please know your name?" Being polite but to the point was best with blunt people. She'd met quite a number of personality types while undercover after all.

"I don't have a name, but everyone just calls me Zero."

Don't have a name? Vivi wasn't going to ask as that would have been rude, but apparently the question was on her face cause the female, Zero, answered anyway.

"My maternal parent stated she had zero interest in my existence and handed me off to the Den, where such children or orphans are placed to be raised. The children are then given an identification number to be known as until they are old enough to choose their own name. By that point, I had zero interest in such things so I said to just call me the number Zero. It stuck."

There was no pain in her gaze. Zero honestly didn't care. It was pointless to stress over something she had no control over and a waste of time when there were better things to be done was not acceptable.

"Were you starved at this Den?" Chopper asked, appalled at the idea that places designed to take care of children had permitted her to be starved. What about the rest of the children? Were they alright or were they dead?

"Ah, no. I was never starved. If your refereeing to my body size, that's merely a result of an experiment of mine. By the time anyone realized what I had done, it was too late. Though it was interesting to witness those three scramble around in worry that I was going to die."

There was a sadistic glee in those green-blue eyes, the first true emotion the female had displayed.

Of course, when she returned to the present, it was to a face inches away from her own. Without displaying the small shock she'd felt at the sudden appearance, Zero instead watched as a small blast of wind tossed the person in her space across the room. Though the fact that the cursed boy, now that she noticed the straw hat, was able to bounce back from the impact was mildly impressive.

"Wow! So you ate a Devil Fruit too! What was yours? I ate the Gum Gum Fruit, so I'm a rubber man."

Huh. If it wasn't for his hair, Zero would place this boy as one on the same wavelength as Axel. Though she didn't know any embarrassing secrets for this one so she wouldn't get to witness bouts of embarrassed anger.

Too bad.

"I have read that people say it is proper manners to give their names to people they wish to converse with before attempting said conversation. As I am no longer going to kill you, it is therefore not pointless to share identification with one another."

"Shishishi, you talk weird."

"Luffy!" Vivi started to admonish the rubber man when Zero interrupted the princess.

"I talk however I feel at the moment. No one bothers trying to change it except hotheaded people who can't keep their mouths shut about anything. Then it is merely amusing to observe their futile attempts. But as you have been classified as a Luffy, I will state that my identification is known as Zero, and that I have never consumed a Devil Fruit. My abilities are simply something from my home."

"Zero." Luffy paused, frowning at a thought before a grin stretched across his face, eyes switching from his swordsman and the silverette.

"Shishishishi. Zero Zoro. Zoro Zero. Hey, Zoro, your names are alike. Do you think her sense of direction is like yours too?"

A sword sheath to the face was his answer.

Shrugging it off as he always does once his face popped back into place, Luffy waved towards Zero.

"Well, I'm Luffy. I'm the man who will become the next King of the Pirates."

Oh. Well that was a bold claim.

"ceq banlahd. Well met then, Pirate King to be. I'm Zero, the Tuner who will become the next Aeon."

TBC…

A.N. Well, some people seem to be interested in this so I'll continue this for them and myself. Zero is a fun character to plan out and act out. Things will be explained next chapter, as much as Zero feels like sharing at least. Please let me know what you think. Happy Halloween Everyone!

Thank you to the following for Favorite/Following this story so far: **Tetraodontiforme, HunterHD1, Don't question it, datchocobun, Juliaaboal,** and **Superpower Lottery.**

Admiral Emily: Thanks again for reviewing!

suntan140: Thanks for reviewing

lilnightmare17: I'm glad you like the beginning and hope you like where it goes from here.


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